Denmark can move its asylum procedure to Africa

The Social Democratic government wants to move the entire asylum process to a third country outside Europe and the countries it is said to have had dialogue with so far are Tunisia, Ethiopia, Egypt and Rwanda, according to Jyllands-Posten.

Since the bourgeoisie Finster – Denmark’s largest opposition party – during the week gave the thumbs up to the controversial bill, there was a majority in Parliament and it was voted on on Thursday.

Shipped from Denmark

The idea is to set up a reception center in another country where asylum applications from third-country nationals and stateless persons are fully processed.

Government S claims that its model fixes a broken asylum system.

– It is a new asylum system that will contribute to reducing the number of people seeking asylum in Denmark, reducing the number of refugees and migrants drowning in the Mediterranean Sea, and reducing the number of people being mistreated on migration routes, said Migration and Integration Minister Matthias Zfay (Q) When the bill was discussed in Parliament earlier in the spring.

The new asylum system will also break the incentive for refugees and other migrants to go to “welfare societies” in Europe, according to the Social Democrats.

– Matthias Tesfaye said there is a reason why they should not stay in Romania and seek asylum, but they continue towards Germany, Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and other countries with more developed welfare systems.

However, the reasoning is weak because it should not be possible to apply for asylum directly at the reception centre.

Asylum seekers still have to reach Denmark – via the Mediterranean and across Europe. Only at the Danish border can they apply for asylum after which they must be sent to that third country for the asylum process, immigration researcher Martin Limberg Pedersen, senior lecturer at the University of Copenhagen’s Center for Advanced Migration Studies (TT) said last week.

If asylum is granted, the refugee must not be integrated into Danish society – but in the respective host country or transferred to a UN refugee camp. If there is a refusal, the host country will be responsible for the deportation.

Criticism from the United Nations

If what has been described in theory becomes a reality, this means that in the future Denmark will not automatically accept any refugee who has sought asylum in the country. Instead, the SPD government has opened up to receiving refugees on a quota system from the United Nations, something Denmark has not done for several years.

UNHCR urged parliament not to vote in favor of the proposal as it would undermine international cooperation. The European Union has also criticized the proposal for the same reasons, and organizations such as Amnesty International, the Red Cross and Save the Children believe it lacks details on how to protect human rights.

Immigration Minister Matthias Tesfaye (S) previously said they first wanted to create legal space for a new asylum system before providing details. He also promised that the Folketing would have his say when an agreement was struck with another country, Jyllands-Posten wrote.

The Social Democrats, the Liberal Party, the Danish People’s Party, the Conservatives, the New Bourgeoisie and the Liberal Alliance voted in favor of the proposal. On the downside, there’s the Socialist People’s Party, the Radical Left, and the Unity and Alternative List, according to the Folketing website.